Sometimes you want to record professional-quality sound without having to be a professional sound engineer. For people with plug-and-play sound recording needs, it doesn’t get much easier than the Snowball USB Microphone from Blue Mic.

We received a Snowball mic to review and the thing is pretty impressive. It comes in at just over two pounds, sits sturdy on any flat surface and gives you crisp, clean sound straight from your USB port. The mic uses a proprietary condenser capsule and as a sample rate of 44.1 kHz. The Snowball features three different recording settings: cardiod, cardioid with pad and omni-directional. The cardiod capsule is ideal for recording speech and vocals.  The cardioid with a -10dB pad is best for capturing live music and louder sound sources. The omni capsule is best used for interviews, conferences or any recording that requires the capturing of larger, more environmental sound sources. It works for podcasters, musicians and anyone who needs quick, clean and easy-to-use voiceover recording.

The mic is available in white, chrome or solid black. It comes with a sturdy swivel mount that functions as a desktop tripod. You can’t use the thing with a traditional analog mixer, but digital setup is quick and easy. You can also connect the Snowball Mic to an iPad using the Apple Camera Connection Kit.

Whether you chat, play music, conduct interviews or if you just need to record your voice on something, you can’t go wrong with the quality and ease of use that the Snowball Blue Mic provides. The MSRP for the mic is $99.00, but you can get in online for a lot cheaper than that.